


Trade Baby Blues for Wide-Eyed Greens

by CrayCray4TayTay



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Alcohol, Fake Marriage, Fanfic Amino, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Making Out, Marijuana, Mentions of Sex, Mentions of Suicide, OFC - Freeform, TTTYG era, Take This To Your Grave (Album), fake engagement, kind of an AU when you compare it to their real lives during TTTYG, lots of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 08:46:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7094932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrayCray4TayTay/pseuds/CrayCray4TayTay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pete Wentz is screwed when his parents make him promise to be engaged by the beginning of June the next year. When time runs out, he asks his best friend for a favour—to be his fake bride. Little Patrick Stump is just trying to hide his affections by telling Pete it’s apart of the act. But in the end, things work out. Sort of. (Slight AU/kind of off canon)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trade Baby Blues for Wide-Eyed Greens

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic I made for the Cross Amino Big Bang on the app FanFic Amino. It's a really cool app, so check it out and compete in things. 
> 
> Link to the fic: http://www.aminoapps.com/page/fan-fiction/5089453/trade-baby-blues-for-wide-eyed-greens-t-m-peterick (Just copy and paste, friends)
> 
> Link to the art: http://aminoapps.com/page/fan-fiction/5087436/trade-baby-blues-for-wide-eyed-greens-artwork (Just copy and paste)
> 
> Or you can search the tag on the app: ffaminobigbang

Pete comes from a fairly wealthy family. They were held in high regard and are well respected locally. If you saw their house you could estimate their wealth.

And Pete hated that.

He dropped out from his private school (where he was a social outcast) and transferred to the public high school. He ended up making friends with some guys from the skate park—his only friends. They helped him convince his parents to let him change schools and his parents, though reluctant, agreed.

Pete ended up with the typical blonde-haired-blue-eyed cheerleader on his arm. He only used her for pleasure, obviously. He finished out his senior year by making a band with his friends and graduating with Andy. They all fucked around with different projects for about four years until Patrick and Joe graduated and he prepared to propose to his girlfriend Tessa, the same cheerleader from high school. His parents pressured him into it (they liked the fact her family was wealthy, too, so they could cut Pete off after the wedding, though they didn’t tell him that). He didn't feel anything special with her, she was just his scapegoat.

But Pete never got to propose. 

After a particularly draining rehearsal, Pete grabbed a cab and headed to Tessa’s house. He had planned on taking her to some expensive, fancy restaurant to pop the question. The strange car in front of her neighbour’s house probably should have tipped him off. Obliviously, he made his way inside and caught her in torn lingerie and smudged lipstick. He froze at the sight of an obvious bodybuilder with red lipstick trailing down his chest to regions hidden by Calvin Kleins was under her. Tessa jumps up and tries to apologize, the man she was caught with stayed quiet, only staring at the other two. Pete simply shakes his head and walks out.

He wasn't upset that she cheated; he was mad she didn't have the guts to just come out and tell him they were over. However, the more he thought about it, the less he really cared that it happened. He didn't want to get engaged to her in the first place. He didn't love her and obviously she didn't love him. He saw this as a good thing, though he didn't admit it out loud to anyone.

Pete’s parents blamed everything on him. They were pissed, to say the least. They kicked him out and told him to try again, telling him he should’ve been more careful, should’ve proposed sooner. Pete didn’t want to settle down so early, but his parents wanted money and grandchildren to spoil and treat better than Pete. It pissed him off, knowing any future children would be his parents’ do-over children. But at this point in time he didn’t really care.

Patrick, Andy, and Joe—Pete’s skater friends—let him move in and they all started focusing on the band more.

They played until dawn with amps down low and Andy on practice pads rather than the set (as to not annoy neighbours), and only one thing stuck in Pete’s head. Not the image of his ex-girlfriend and the other guy, but of the promise he made to his parents. They made him promise it—he never would have accepted it voluntarily—but they threatened to cut him off. They made him promise that by the beginning of June the next year, a full 365 days, he’d have a new lover, a fiancée, with a wedding day picked out. They told him she’d have to be pretty, and she’d have to have money. He didn’t know how he’d do it, but he would. He couldn’t risk being cut off. He needed the money to keep the band going, and all four of them with minimum wage jobs just wasn’t cutting the mustard.

***

Pete and his friends mostly focused on music and work until the holiday season. They all visited with family a few days before Christmas Eve, while spending Christmas snowed into their cold, mouse-infested apartment together. They didn’t really make a big deal about it, didn’t go all out with a tree and decorations, but they opened gifts from one another (small things like CDs and vinyls and new cords for amps since mice tended to chew through them). They played the radio and called family, wishing them a Merry Christmas. There was some alcohol, though because of their ages there wasn’t much. No one complained. It was enough to get a buzz going, at least for Pete, Joe, and Patrick; Andy decided against eggnog and almost expired beer so he can work on some music. 

The night ended with Andy showering and heading off to bed around midnight and Joe following him to bug him about the timing in one song and discuss media gossip. Pete and Patrick knew they were secretly a thing and were just going to make out. Pete suggested turning up the radio in case things got too heated in Andy’s room.

They did end up turning up the radio—a rock station, not Christmas, much to Patrick’s reluctance. Pete and Patrick sat side by side on the couch, the apartment too cold to not exchange body heat under a flannel blanket or two. Wind whipped fresh snowflakes across the sky, layering atop the old snow piles as Pete and Patrick talked. They reminisced on their childhoods and spoke briefly about the future, neither wanting to really dwell on it.

When the blizzard outside picked up, somewhere between 3 and 4 a.m., the boys slipped into a comfortable, sleepy silence. And one thing led to another and Patrick ended up falling asleep on Pete’s shoulder. As Pete fell asleep and his shoulders lean forward, he’s conscious enough to gently grab Patrick’s head and lower it to his lap. Even though Pete lost some of the blankets so Patrick’s head was comfortable on Pete’s jean-clad lap, he didn’t complain.

Neither mentioned it when Patrick woke up to Pete’s drool on his cheekbone and his hand on top of Pete’s, which was resting on Patrick’s heart.

***

It’s now three months from the day Pete promised he’d be engaged by. His palms sweated slightly when he realizes this. Where had all that time gone?

He mentally goes through his friends list thinking of some girl who met his parents’ criteria. He thought they were pretty but his parents might not. And all the girls he knows are either minimum wage groupies or taken—and he might be a bit of a fuck boy, but he’s not a homewrecker.

And that’s about the time his friends list starts to turn male. Pete _really_ didn’t want to think about his male colleague like that so he stopped, but not before his brain stops on Patrick. 

Small, adorable Patrick, who Pete would do anything for. Maybe, just this once, Patrick would do anything for him instead. Patrick’s young face and smooth complexion with angelic features, his longish hair—no. Pete loves him too much to make him _dress in drag and pretend to be his girlfriend_. Boyfriend, maybe, with some bribing. But not girlfriend. His parents did just kind of assume he was straight (which he wasn’t), and he never told them otherwise, so maybe Patrick showing up with him to a ‘Welcome to the Family’ Dinner would teach them to not be so quick to judge.

But Patrick wasn’t rich.

But Pete is kind of out of options. He didn’t want to go out and find some Lady of the Night and bribe her into it, like _that_ would be a good idea, anyway. 

He decides he’ll think about it. He has three months, after all. Maybe they’ll forget before then.

***

Pete realized just how screwed he is when his mother brings it up in a phone call a week off from the Day. She hadn’t forgotten and neither had his father. He was royally boned and he knew it. He played it off though, telling his mother that his significant other is awesome and that she’ll love them. (He strayed from using ‘she’ or ‘he’ as to keep his mother from questioning him now or later.) 

After the phone call ends, Pete immediately exits the living room and walks into Patrick’s room. Andy and Joe were off God Knows Where doing God Knows What ( _Probably each other_ , Pete thinks) and Patrick decided to lock himself away to put the finishing touches on his parts in their album. Pete doesn’t bother with manners and walks in without a word. Patrick is sound asleep under his blankets with a minefield of papers and his guitar scattered across the floor. As he tries to avoid slipping over lyrics, Pete’s socked foot steps on the cord strung between the amp in the corner and Patrick’s guitar. He has to stomp to catch himself and he curses himself in a loud whisper. 

Patrick wakes up instantly. “Pete?” He sits up, the blankets falling off his shoulders.

“Fuck, sorry, Patrick. I didn’t mean to scare you awake,” Pete apologizes. 

“No, no. It’s fine,” Patrick interrupts. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep, anyway. What’d you need? Are Andy and Joe back yet?”

Pete finally makes it to the bed and he sits on the side. “What? No, they aren’t back yet. I was just checking on your progress; see what you’ve changed.” His last sentence comes out choppy and hesitant. That lets Patrick know his best friend is holding something back. 

“No you weren’t. Why’d you come in here?” The sleepiness has disappeared from his head now, he’s sleep-sober. 

Pete realizes he’s screwed, _again_ , and he sighs. “Patrick,” he starts, “I need a favour.” Patrick just stares at him. “About a year ago, when I caught Tessa cheating—I was going to propose that night.” Patrick nods; he knew that part. “My parents wanted me to. I didn’t, though, so I was kind of glad she cheated. But they made me promise that within a year, I’d get engaged to someone attractive and rich or they'd cut me off.” He left out the female part. “And I’m still single, as you know, and I have a week to find and propose to someone.” Pete looks up at Patrick, biting his lower lip and daring to meet Patrick’s eyes for a moment. It hadn’t clicked for Patrick yet. “Could you—I don’t know. Do you think you could—” Pete stops, sighs, collects his thoughts, and tries again. “Can you be my pretend boyfriend for the next few weeks and pretend to be surprised and happy when I ‘propose’”—Pete air quotes the word— “to you at dinner with them next Saturday?” 

Patrick’s expression is blank, still staring at Pete, and Pete begins to fear the worst and prepares to backpedal. 

And then, “Sure.”

“Really?” Pete asks, dumfounded. Did Patrick just _agree_ to being Pete’s fake boyfriend _without_ being bribed? Patrick repeats his one word answer again, not quite believing his own answer.

Pete doesn’t say anything for a second, until he manages to stutter out, “Okay. Um, thank you. Thank you so much.”

Patrick just smiles a little and leans into Pete’s side, resting his head on his friend’s shoulder. “What? What are you doing, Trick?”

Patrick grins a little. He hums, then, “If we need to pass as dating for the next few weeks, we might as well start now and get over the awkwardness.”

Pete really can’t argue or complain, but he still thinks something is wrong. This isn’t normal Patrick behavior.

“Okay,” Pete agrees, and opens his mouth to say something else but decides against it and closes his mouth again. He figures he can address it later, because he can hear Joe and Andy laughing as they make their way up the stairs and unlock the front door. He hears the bags of food rattling in their hands and Andy’s giggle at an innuendo Joe made about him. Pete knows it’s about time they all come clean, or at least as clean as two friends pretending to be engaged can be.

Pete never did get to ask Patrick about his weird behavior.

***

As they sit around the living room the next night, paper plates of Chinese food on their laps, Pete decides to start up a conversation. He and Patrick agreed to tell Andy and Joe they were together, not bothering with an explanation of everything. The less they know, the smoother this would go on Saturday. 

Patrick is sitting unnecessarily close to him, closer than he ever had before. “So, guys, I think there’s something Patrick and I should tell you.” He glances at Patrick, wiping a smirk off his face before turning back to the other two, who sat in the recliner (Joe in it and Andy perched on the arm, _definitely boyfriends_ ). “Patrick and I are together.” The two boys look at him for a second, then at each other. 

“That’s okay because Andy and I are, too,” Joe says confidently, turning back to face Pete.

Patrick smirks, “Yeah, we kind of guessed that.” Andy just smiles.

Everything is okay.

***

Pete uses his parents money to buy everyone suits. “Everyone” included Andy and Joe because he couldn’t imagine doing this without them—fake or not, they’d kill him if he didn’t bring them along. Plus, their same-sex relationship will probably help soften the blow of Pete proposing to a guy.

Pete warned them about the restaurant they’d be going to (small portions for high prices), so they all ate some fast food and snacked through the day until five o’clock rolled around. They all got dressed (Pete and Patrick slipping on their Converse to keep up their punk appearance) and piled into a cab. 

Pete was ready; he’d played out every possible scenario in his head for the past seven days. Most ended good, maybe a back-handing from Joe and/or Andy when they learn it’s all to save Pete’s ass and income. But some scenarios ended bad, his parents disowning him, him going home and stealing all the alcohol and pills in the apartment and hoping to never wake back up. 

Pete hopes it doesn’t end like that. 

As they get out of the cab, walking into the restaurant, Pete pulls Joe aside and pulls the ring box from his blazer pocket, keeping it from Patrick’s view. He whispers, “Patrick,” and puts it away. Joe’s eyes go wide, clearly thinking _this is a bad idea_. He still thinks it’s real. “Tell Andy for me,” Pete tells him. Joe nods and steals Andy away to tell him as Pete and Patrick walk up to the hostess to ask where his parents are sitting. 

***

They are led to a room in the back of the dimly lit, secluded restaurant. There’s no one at the other tables in the room, just Pete’s pretentious parents sitting at a rectangular table in the centre gawking over the menu. Pete’s mother looks up as they enter, smiling at Pete before noticing the rag-tag group behind him and her smile falters. 

They sit down, Pete across from his parents with Patrick to his left and Joe and Andy to his right. He can already hear the snobby comments his parents are thinking about them. Joe’s I Don’t Give A Fuck (Most Likely Baked) look, Andy’s long hair and piercing and tattoos peaking out from his sleeves, Patrick’s closeness to him and his baby face and long hair covered by a grey cadet beanie. And of course he can feel his parents comments aimed at him, his greasy hair and his edgy demeanor. 

Pete takes care of introductions, introducing Patrick as his “boyfriend and love of his life” and Joe and Andy as his “brothers,” and starts a conversation, making it pleasant and polite and asking his father about his business and his mother’s ever-growing recipe book and just catching up. His mother asks about their band and they all explain something about it and all six of them talk about music for a while, not a rude comment or curse thrown at all. It was actually quite nice.

They all order something fancy sounding and try not to worry about the possible cost. Patrick has his hand on Pete’s thigh while they talk. It turns out Joe’s mother went to school with Pete’s, so they had a brief conversation about that. Long story short, no one mentioned the _real_ reason they were having a big family dinner.

They all eat in silence and things are going good until Joe runs out of water and desperately needs a drink and the waiter hasn’t returned since the food got there. Andy, being Joe’s loving boyfriend, offers him his wine and Joe accepts, thanking Andy by kissing him full on the lips and Pete’s parents are a little taken aback. They say nothing, thankfully, and Pete releases the breath he’d been holding in. 

All through dessert, Pete’s parents are staring at him expectantly. He made a promise and he was running out of daylight to fulfill it. 

Finally, after the empty plates were taken and glasses were refilled with more expensive-tasting red wine and water, Pete stands, hands shaking, and says he has an announcement to make. He’s glad there’s literally no one else in the building but staff. He pulls Patrick from his chair and holds his hands and recites a lovey-dovey speech he wrote on the bus ride home from work last Wednesday. He ends it by getting down on one knee and pulling out the ring from his blazer pocket and presenting it to Patrick. 

Patrick isn’t a great actor, but he’s pretty damn good. Tears well up in his eyes and he smiles and he nods and gasps out a “Yes!” and he pulls Pete up and hugs him and he kisses him on the mouth so hard Pete can’t believe he’s actually faking it. He had told Patrick the night before to make it real, kiss him if he wanted, but this was crazy. They’d never _actually_ kissed before now, only little ones on the cheek or forehead to pass as a couple like Andy and Joe do. Looking back, they probably should’ve practiced. Pete thinks that when Patrick starts licking his lip and they have a small make out session post-proposal. Pete really hopes this sells the “love of my life” act and gets his parents off his back for a while.

They pull away for air and Pete rests his forehead on Patrick’s. He stares into the younger boy’s eyes, taking note of their usually green hue is actually blue with a yellow ring around the pupil. They pull away a moment later, after sharing some loving eye contact and they take their seats. They’re both grinning like idiots and they hold hands as they chat animatedly with the other four at the table. He couldn't be happier.

For a moment, Pete forgets that this is all fake.

***

Pete follows Patrick into his room and they sit on Patrick’s bed in silence for a while; Patrick twists the ring on his finger. “What did we just do?” He asks quietly.

“What do you mean, Trick?” Pete asks, his body buzzing slightly from the amount of wine he consumed, something he wasn’t used to. 

“We just _got fucking engaged_ , Pete. This was all a good plan at first—pretend to date your best friend—but now what are we gonna do? Your mom was about to start picking out dates and venues for us to get married. _Married_ , Pete! What are we gonna do now, huh? Tell them it was fake? Wait three months and tell them we decided to break up? Because there’s no fucking way we’re going through with this, right?” Patrick finishes venting, allowing Pete to respond.

Pete swallows. “Well, we could go through with it. Married couples get good tax benefits and all. I don’t see why not.” 

“Are you drunk, Pete? Or buzzed? This isn’t something you’d normally agree to. Did you steal some of Joe’s pot? Are you sober enough for this conversation? Or are you drunk or high enough to not remember what I’m about to tell you?” Patrick’s voice gets softer as he talks and he stares at Pete with a sad expression. Pete doesn’t really know how to respond so he just kind of stares at Patrick blankly and wonders why he decided to follow him into his room instead of going to his own. Then he wouldn’t feel like such a shit friend. Patrick sighs.

Pete answers him. “I honestly don’t know, Trick. But you know you can tell me anything, right? Good or bad, I’m here for you.”

Partick kind of curls in on himself. He knows Pete wants to know what he has to say. He can’t bring himself to really tell the whole truth about what’s on his mind, so he settles for part of it. “I’m eighteen, Pete. You’re twenty-two. You can fucking drink and I can’t even walk into a fucking casino. Even if we go through with this, how is it going to end? We’re both really young, Pete. These things don’t usually end well.”

Pete sighs. He gets his point, but fuck. “Patrick. I understand that, but, man. Think of it this way: one day, we’re all going to die. Maybe tomorrow, maybe when we’re 105. It doesn’t matter, death comes for us all. We can only run for so long. So I say, why not live while we’re young, ya know? Be young and reckless and make stupid mistakes and do things on impulse. Live and learn and thrive. You get me? Actually _live_. So why not get married now? You’re my best fucking friend, Patrick. I’d die for you. You’ve helped me and I’ve helped you and we owe each other our lives. I love you so fucking much, Patrick. I’d never hurt you. I’d never let anyone hurt you.” 

They sit in silence for a minute following Pete’s speech, both boys staring off into an oblivion far beyond. And then Patrick has tears welling up in his eyes for the second time tonight. And before Pete can formulate a question about it, Patrick is hugging him so hard he swears his ribs are about to crack, as if his chest just slammed into the steering wheel after colliding with a car. Pete hugs him back.

“Pete,” Patrick whimpers into the older boy’s shoulder. “I love you, too. I love you so fucking much it hurts to see you every day and not be able to hold you and kiss you like I did tonight. I know you say you love me, but I love you so much more and in a totally different way and it hurts to hear you say that because I’ve loved you for so fucking long.” Patrick sniffles into Pete’s shoulder and his breath turns ragged. Patrick is _fucking crying_ because of _him_. Man, now Pete really feels like a shit friend.

Pete understands his words and everything suddenly clicks into place. That’s why Patrick was okay with faking it, so he could pretend it was real. That’s why Patrick was quick to act like he was really dating Pete. That’s why Patrick’s acting was so good tonight. Patrick wanted it to be real. “Oh, Patrick,” Pete whispers into the boy’s shoulder. He holds him even tighter. 

“Call me young and stupid and inexperienced, but I fucking love you, Pete. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. So drop me now, tell me how young and reckless I’m being and let me go. I don’t need sympathy and I don’t want you lying to make me feel better. Do you really love me, Pete?”

Pete doesn’t even need to think about that answer. “I do so fucking much, Patrick.” And with that, he pulls Patrick’s head off his shoulder and kisses him harder than Patrick did to him hours before. This was _real_. Pete pushes Patrick back and lays on top of him, lips still locked and his tongue in Patrick’s mouth. 

Pete pulls away, pushing Patrick’s beanie off and resting his forehead on Patrick’s. He stares into Patrick’s green eyes and realizes this is where he wants to be forever. 

“Think we can go through with this whole marriage thing now?” Pete smirks, then whispers, “I love you.”

“Yes, Pete. I love you, too.”


End file.
